The Fires of Liberation
by xSwissChrisx
Summary: Elise had never expected to wind up in combat after joining the ERU. She certainly never expected to engage a hostile force in the skies above her home city of Gracemeria. But when the call comes down for Garuda 1 to be in the air regardless of her craft's prototype status Captain Elise "Talisman" Sterling is pressed into service. A loose adaptation/novelization of Ace Combat 6.
1. Chapter 1: Bird of War

**Chapter 1: Bird of War**

* * *

Elise rolled her shoulder as she flicked a few of the switches inside the cockpit of her plane, doing one last check before looking down at the doctor. She raised her eyebrows as the older man waved up at her, beckoning her down and out of the craft. With a sigh she opened the canopy and slid out of the pilot seat, dropping down to the hanger floor and pulling off her helmet. Her normally long brown hair tied into a bun had been left messy by the helmet, something she was more than used to by now. The new G-suit on the other hand, had left her feeling tense. It was still a little too stiff for her liking, but that wouldn't change until she really broke it in.

Walking over to the doctor she noticed that for once he didn't have his usual smile on his face. Instead he was wearing a frustrated frown that highlighted his age, something that only his grey hair and beard tended to give away. Dr. Scott Tennent was well into his late forties, and while most men Elise knew around that age like to dye their hair its original color, the doctor liked having it grey. He would joke how it gave him 'character', he would joke how it garnered him respect. He would joke about a lot of things. In fact if it wasn't for the white lab coat, and the brilliant mind he had, most people wouldn't be able to guess he was a scientist. As she approached him he shooed away one of the technicians, rolling his eyes before he turned to her with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Elise, looks like **someone** forgot to reset the configuration." The doctor said, shooting a dirty look over at the same technician. "We'll have you up in the air in a few minutes. I'm sure you're eager to get back up there."

"Well maybe just a little." Elise shrugged, smirking as her eyes darted back and forth between the sky outside and her bird. A bright white delta wing fighter with blue lining the edges of the nose and wings. Underneath the main frame were the air intakes of the twin engines, and on top of the frame were the pair of outwardly angled twin tails. Proudly painted on the tails was a light blue bird, talons extended as it flew forward, the word Garuda written underneath and ERU written above.

"Take all the time you need Doc." Elise smiled looking up at the plane. "It's still a prototype after all, I can wait a few minutes before takeoff."

"Oh it shouldn't take them more than a minute." He added, pushing up his glasses "Now then, we'll be finishing our weapons tests today. I know you said they're working fine but I'd like to make sure. No point in eventually turning this thing over to the combat groups if they can't fight."

"We'll still be keeping one for ourselves right?" Elise asked hopefully, she was barely a member of the military as it was. The only reason she was flying was thanks to the Research Unit here, of course half the other pilots they tested washed out after nearly crashing the Doctor's pride and joy.

"You know for one so young you sure to get attached to things rather easily. Aren't kids supposed to be all fleeting when it comes to new toys?" The doc chuckled "Of course we will, there are still plenty of things this platform can test. We still need to make it more accessible for less capable pilots after all."

"Well forgive me if I hope it takes a while." She shot back "So we're just testing standard weaponry today right?"

"Yes yes, just the standard AAMs and AGMs." He nodded "Nothing fancy today I'm afraid, though I get the feeling you don't quite—"

A familiar booming sound tore through the air, cutting the doctor off as it echoed throughout the hangar. Though it sounded far off, Elise was holding onto a small bit of hope it was closer than she thought.

"I don't suppose one of our missiles went off by accident?" She asked, shortly before an alarm blared overhead.

"Somehow I don't think so." Tennent replied as the sound of engines kicking off filled the air. Hardly a second later a uniformed man burst into their hangar, his eyes locked on the pair as they glanced outside and saw the smoke rising in the background.

"You, in the air, now." The man said, pointing at Elise with a commanding tone that did little to settle her nerves. "Form up with the rest of our fighters."

"Now hold on just a moment." The Doctor said coming to her aid "We are a research team, and this plane is barely combat ready. We don't even know the situation."

"I barely do myself, but were under attack." The man all but growled, refusing to back down "Orders from the Joint Chiefs, Garuda in the air ASAP along with the rest of our birds. Get moving."

He left without another word, storming out of the hanger and down the runway, probably to give more of the same orders.

"Damnit." The Doctor said, stepping in front of her and putting both hands on her shoulders and looking her dead in the eye. "Elise listen to me, I don't know what's going on but the regular forces can handle it. Just fly safe and don't put yourself at risk."

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine." Elise breathed in trying to steady herself as her eyes drifted back to the smoke outside. "But just in case, what weapons were we loading up again?"

"Sidewinder and Griffin missile systems."

"Got it, I'll be okay Doc." Elise insisted as she slowly made her way back to the plane. "I can do this, I can do this." She added to herself as she climbed back into the cockpit.

"Do be careful will you?" Tennent added as he stuck his hands in his coat's pockets. "One of a kind you know."

"I'll take good care of her." Elise nodded as the hanger doors opened further to let her out, closing the canopy as she slipped her helmet back on.

"I wasn't taking about the plane, captain." The doctor chimed in over her com system.

"Thanks, I'll watch myself out there." she smiled lightly, moving to the runway as a pair of jets formed up behind her and she switched to standard coms. "Garuda 1 Talisman, taxiing to runway, ready for takeoff."

"Garuda 1 you are cleared for takeoff." A new voice echoed into her ear. Anything else was drowned out as she gunned the throttle, accelerating down the runway and pulling off the ground. Normally it filled her with joy to pull up and tear into the sky, but for the first time in her life Elise was filled with dread as she saw the dozens of other fighters forming up into attack positions as she climbed towards them. Leveling her plane and holding position she stared at the smoke rising from her home city of Gracemeria, heart dropping as she caught sight of aircraft marked as hostile sweeping over the land.

_Dad…._

"Garuda 1 you do not have a wingman." The voice called her name, bringing her back into focus.

"Negative, I'm ERU." She called out as her hand tightened around the flight stick.

"Let's see…." The voice trailed off "Shamrock? Shamrock are you alone too? Very well, as of now you're Garuda 2."

"Okay Ghost Eye." A second voice crackled to life, Shamrock she guessed. "So I'm Garuda 2 huh? Garuda 1 I've got you're back."

"Roger that, I'm Talisman." She responded, giving her Tac-name as she saw an F-15 flying up behind her. "A pleasure."

"Likewise, no time for introductions now though." Shamrock chuckled "Go ahead and I'll follow your lead. Never was good with directions anyhow."

"Garuda Team you are authorized to engage any hostile aircraft above Gracemeria." Ghost Eye relayed orders to them.

"Roger that, moving to intercept." Elise responded before diving instinctively. Her gut taking over as her eyes honed in on the marked aircraft. Her mind reeled as she realized she actually was moving to intercept the nearest ones, eyes going wide with how natural it all felt.

"May the Golden King smile upon us." Shamrock chimed in happily as he followed her lead.

_I'm hoping he does a little more than smile right now._ Elise gulped as her mind started racing, she was panicking now. She knew she shouldn't be moving towards the enemy, she should just be backing away and letting the regular forces handle this like the Doctor said. Her hand started pulling her aircraft into a turn to move away, almost completing the maneuver before she saw a large bomber in the distance. And its bomb bays open.

Whatever sense of fear she had, whatever doubts and worries, evaporated as the first bomb dropped. She gunned the throttle, pulling her plane up and over before looping down onto the bomber's tail. She didn't even wait for a missile lock, instead she opened fire with her gun. The heavy rounds tore into the hostile aircraft, and fire streaked from it as the bomb bay exploded sending the plane plummeting down below. As the first bomber fell, the one in front of it came into view and Elise's radar clicked as it achieved a missile lock.

"Talisman, Fox 2." She called out, loosing a missile. Her lower weapon bay popped open, dropping a single Sidewinder anti air missile that streaked towards her target. She didn't even wait to see it blow. She was more than close enough and the bomber wouldn't be able to evade in time. Another explosion rocked the air as she banked right, a single enemy fighter coming into range of her guns. She barely registered pulling the trigger as it streaked by, her eyes scanning for more bogeys.

"Garuda 1 downed an enemy!" Shamrock called out happily, reminding her of his presence. "Nice shooting."

"We've got an ID on the invaders." Ghost Eye broke into open coms "We're engaged with the Estovakian military."

"The Estovakians?" A new voice rang out.

"Their economy's been in shambles for years, looks like they finally snapped." Another one answered.

_Estovakia? _Elise recoiled at the revelation. _Let's hope they don't get a good look at what I'm flying._

"So those bastards think they can barge into someone's house without even calling first?!" a final voice answered.

"Unbelievable huh Windhover? I say we teach em a few manner before we kick em out." Shamrock chuckled.

The familiarity they all addressed each other with was hardly lost on Elise. These pilots all knew one another, she was the odd one out. Plane and all. She felt out of place enough as it was, but now even more so. It was a strange thought to have as more missiles streaked from her plane into bomber after bomber. She hadn't even realized she was still shooting this whole time, and a quick look across the city showed not a single bomber in the sky.

"Garuda 1, Talisman. All bombers taken care of." She spoke calmly into the com, her voice steady despite the shaking of her hands as she fought back against the anxiety building in her at how easy it had been to shoot them down. She was a test pilot for God's sake, she was never supposed to be in combat.

"Hot damn, who's the new girl?" A voice chuckled into her ear as she formed back up with Shamrock.

"Good work, you should be able to hold down the…" Ghost eye started trailing off "What's this? Missiles?!"

Elise's alarm blared as she all but felt the air rip apart in front of her. She pitched the plane up sharply, G's tearing into her body as she turned away just in time for the space she was flying into to explode in a storm of fire. More explosions burst around the sky above the city, and Elise watched in horror as some of the aircraft marked as friendly disappeared from her HUD.

"Enemy cruise missiles incoming!" Ghost Eye shouted to all planes as Elise pulled another high G turn to evade being blasted apart.

"Those are no ordinary cruise missiles!" Another pilot shouted back, Windhover if she heard Shamrock right. "Evade like hell if you want out of this alive!"

Hardly a second later Elise's warning system flared up again, a new missile locking on to her as she rolled her plane over to dodge. Glancing up as she hit the airbrake she caught sight of a squadron of black and red Sukhoi fighters as they screamed through the sky above her. The squadron broke apart a second later, the one in the lead turning back towards her and gaining missile lock again. Staying in her roll, Elise turned the plane downwards diving towards the bay and leveling out just over the water. She hit the throttle, accelerating rapidly as she saw the Sukhoi pull in behind her on radar.

A missile shot out from under her pursuer's wing, and Elise barely banked in time to avoid it. She turned towards the now ruined King's Bridge, flying between the support cables in an attempt to shake him. In a surprising turn of events the bogey rolled, angling its wings and flying along the bridge's road as she passed back and forth through the supports.

"Holy shit!" Shamrock cried out into the com "Hang on Garuda 1, I'm moving to support!"

Elise looked up and spied her wingman diving to intercept, completely ignoring the bogey on his tail. A dark colored Sukhoi from the same squadron as her pursuer was following close behind him as Shamrock dived.

"Negative! Negative!" She shouted back at him "Check your six!"

She heard him gasp as his fighter suddenly veered off, the bogey following him slowly as it tried to match his maneuver.

"I'll handle this one, form up with a nearby ally for now!" she ordered, pulling her plane up and ignoring the G's as started gaining altitude.

She banked right as a different missile warning flooded her ears and another cruise missile detonated directly in her path. The explosion nearly scrapped the bottom of her fighter, but she managed to level out in time. Her relief was short lived as her radar showed the bogey once again gaining on her.

Rapidly getting sick of this game, Elise pitched her nose up instantly. Combined with her low speed from the climb and subsequent turn the aircraft briefly stalled out as she went vertical. She watched the Sukhoi shoot passed her as she nosed back down, instantly gaining target lock and firing. Her Sidewinder missile burst from her weapons bay, screaming through the air as it raced towards its target and impacted. Catching the Sukhoi mid bank it exploded on his tail, scarring the plane. Elise watched it fall, spinning as it plummeted to the ground. What surprised her the most was how just as she thought it would crash into the water, the pilot managed to recover. It pulled out of the spin and started gliding towards the now ruined highway just passed the King's Bridge.

Elise briefly considered going after him to finish the job, but one by one the black and red Sukhois broke off their targets and dived to cover what had to have been their leader. They formed up protectively around him as he performed a belly landing on the freeway.

"This is Ghost Eye to all planes. Air defense command has ordered an evacuation." Their AWACS informed them, more than a hint of regret in his voice "You've been ordered to give up Gracemeria. Break away from this airspace and head west."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Windhover raged "We can't comply with that order!"

"We are militarily at a huge disadvantage." Ghost Eye argued "Follow the order and head west."

"This is Avalanche, were not going anywhere!" another fighter called out as Elise formed back up with Shamrock.

"Would you listen?! It's only temporary." Ghost Eye shot back "The plan is to withdraw, meet up with forces from each area, then regroup for a counterattack."

"No wait!" Elise shouted into the open com.

"We can't afford to lose all of you, follow the order." Ghost Eye insisted

"This is Garuda 2 to Garuda 1," Shamrock started sadly "we really should get out of here."

"Just a moment!" Elise fired back, flipping to the ERU's com network "Doctor, are you safe?"

"Well yes but—" Doctor Tennent crackled to life.

"No buts, are you safe or not?" She cut him off.

"Yes of course, I was going to say this transport is far from comfortable." He explained "We were the first ones out once they gave the order for non-essential personnel. All our gear is with us, your locker included."

Elise let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, relief finally taking over as she turned west.

"Good, good. Thanks doc." Elise sighed "See you at the rendezvous."

"Roger that, I'll want to hear how everything held up once you're safe." He added, and Elise could her the smile on his face as he spoke.

"Don't worry, we'll be back soon." Elise heard Shamrock speak up as the broke away from the city. Elsie nodded, even though no one else could see it. _Hold on dad, I won't be gone long._

* * *

Two midair refuelings and arguably the longest flight of his life later, and Marcus Lampert was more than ready to touch down for the day. He'd be lying through his teeth if he said he wasn't disappointed with the idea of pulling out of Gracemeria, but he was even more so when the kept flying all the way to Khesed, setting down in Campagna airport. When the order to evacuate came down he didn't think they'd be pulling this far back. But there was little he could do, and at the very least the damage to the residential districts looked light when they left the capital.

"Garuda 2 Shamrock you're cleared to land." Ground control confirmed as he watched his wingman, or wingwoman really, touchdown and start taxiing to one of the hangers. She hadn't been very talkative on the trip to Khesed, then again who had been? Even still it was all he could do not to ask her about the strange plane she was flying. Clearly new, probably a prototype aircraft. Given the skills she showed off during the attack she earned the right to pilot it.

"Roger that, Garuda 2 coming down." Marcus confirmed, extending his landing gear and slowly touching down on the runway.

"Shamrock was it?" a new voice echoed into his ear. "This is Doctor Scott Tennent. Since you're part of our _squadron_ now, you'll be sharing our hanger."

"Doctor?" Marcus asked "Uhh, yeah I guess so."

"Now while I've been assured there is enough room for both craft, I'd prefer it if you not get in our way." The man went on. "We have to run a few tests on our plane after all that stress."

"Yeah you got it." Marcus said, confused

"Yes well, thank you for having our pilot's back during the engagement." The doctor sighed "Welcome to the Emmerian Air Research Unit."

_Well that explains the plane_. He realized quickly, that pretty much confirmed it was a prototype. He would've been surprised it had been sent up had they not been invaded so heavily.

As he slowly followed his wingman to the hanger, he caught a glimpse of the inside as her aircraft was backed in. Technicians as well as a few people in lab coats were scrambling to get things set up as she slid in. The moment the craft came to a halt they started hooking up cable after cable to it, and a few people started furiously typing away at the consoles they were linked to. Talisman still hadn't left the cockpit, and seemed to be assisting them in some way from inside. Pulling his F-15 tight against the far wall to give them room, Marcus leapt out of the cockpit and started walking over, getting a better look at his new squadron leader's craft. To say he was stunned by it would be an understatement, it was incredible up close.

"See, this is why I didn't want to push it into combat for another year at least!" a familiar voice shouted over by one of the consoles. Marcus turned to see an older looking man with loose grey hair and a grey beard readjust his glasses. He was practically fuming as he typed away at a console.

"We're lucky it's so well built! We still have days' worth of data to pour over and they push her out there so soon?" Doctor Tennent exclaimed

"Look on the bright side sir." A technician said hesitantly "We have plenty of new data to factor is as well. Combat data that will prove—"

"Very useful yes." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I'm also concerned for our test pilot you know!"

"I'm fine Doc. A little shaken, but I'm alright." A female voice rang out, Marcus found his eyes glued to the flight suited form walking toward the doctor from the plane. His first thought was how short she was, a full head and a half shorter than he was, as if she was still growing. But when she removed her helmet all he could think was how young she was. Brown hair, plenty shades lighter than his own, stuck to her face from a light sheen of sweat. A face that was clearly younger than every single pilot he had ever met, female or not.

_She can't be much older than Jessica._ He thought, mind wandering over to his daughter back in the capitol.

"Talisman I take it?" He asked, stepping forward and trying to keep his face passive as he wondered why on earth a girl her age was flying for the air force.

"Yeah, Shamrock?" she checked, turning to face him.

"Yes ma'am." He smiled jokingly, extending his hand "Lieutenant Marcus Lampert."

"Captain Elise Sterling." She introduced, shaking his hand.

"Captain?"

"Perks of being with the ERU." She shrugged, "Especially as their only pilot."

"Yeah I guess." He chuckled, hiding the inner turmoil he was dealing with. _God how old is she?_ "Been with them long?"

"A couple of years." She told him "I'm twenty by the way."

"I uhh, I didn't ask." Marcus tilted his head.

"You didn't have to, I know that look." Elise sighed "Everyone who finds out I'm flying wonders how old I am."

"I'm just surprised is all, you're younger than just about every pilot I've ever met." Marcus admitted awkwardly.

"And more skilled too." Dr. Tennent spoke up, humming as he continued working at his console. "That's why we had to scoop her up so fast, we needed someone with the skill to really put this bird through her paces."

Marcus's eyes drifted back to the aircraft in question. Now that he knew it was a prototype for sure, he couldn't help but wonder more about it.

"I gotta say, this thing is impressive." He whistled "You really know how to maneuver it too. Who came up with this thing?"

"Well although I can't claim all of the credit, most of it does fall to me." The Doctor added

"He's being modest." Elise smiled "The original design was stolen by Air Force Intelligence from the Estovakians. But the Doc modified it so much it might as well be a different aircraft."

"The Stovies huh?" Marcus thought, suddenly grinning at the idea of them being shot down by their own design. "What's it called?"

"Well they like to call it the CFA-44 Nosferatu." Elise explained "But since all it does half the time is take up space the Doc wanted to it the Tenant."

"Wouldn't that mean he's practically naming it for hims—"

"Yes, yes it would." She sighed cutting him off.

"So what do you call her?" he asked, getting the feeling she had a better name.

Elise smiled at that question, looking up fondly at the craft.

"The F-44A Dove."

* * *

A/N

And so it begins.  
Welcome to the latest fic, mostly a fun little thing to work on when I've got burnout.

Suppose I'll start with the biggest question: why? It's actually fairly simple, Ace Combat 7 came out a while back and Ive always loved the franchise. Unfortunately my access to the games has declined thanks to younger me not taking good care of discs. Damn you younger me. But fortunately AC6 was given out to people who pre-ordered AC7 like I did, and I couldn't help but replay it. I have to say though, it's story is not my favorite that belongs to either 4 or 5. And as always I can't help but feel the reason for that is the lack of a voiced protagonist.

I know it's designed to help immerse the player better in the game and make it feel like **you** are the main character, but I feel like it doesn't do any favors to the story. The player's attachment to the story is, in my eyes, meant to come through the stories shown by the other side characters. But until the very final mission nothing those characters do actually affects the player. And all it does is give you intel on your final target. Meh. That isn't to say I don't like those stories, but I always got this "why should **I** care?" feeling.

So the first thing I decided to do was remove the voiceless main character. Duh, can't have a story without one. But I also warped Garuda 1 heavily. For one thing **she** is fairly young and not part of the standard air force. This was intentional on two parts, the first of which being to explain why Garuda 1 is so skilled in the air. Fans of the franchise will notice I gave her the most overpowered plane in the entire game, combined with her skills from test flying a next generation aircraft for two years and I felt that would explain why Garuda comes out of nowhere to dominate the air war. But also since it's a "prototype" craft there are going to be issues with it over the course of the story.

Of course one of the main reasons I made her so young was because of the relationship I have planned between her and her wingman Marcus "Shamrock" Lampert. I always felt Shamrock was meant to be the player's bridge and connection to the stakes of the war as much as the cut scene characters. He's supposed to be your partner, your friend. But we barely get more of a glimpse into him other than: his family, his desire to take back his home, and his belief in Garuda 1. I always wanted that relationship to be built up a bit more, so I aged Shamrock a few years so that Talisman reminds him of his daughter. This way I can build their relationship in a different way, while keeping certain core concepts in.

And to make a more concrete story, I've decided to flesh out a couple more characters and add one of my own. Well two really if you factor in my changes to Talisman making her essentially on OC. But the Doctor and her will be the only real OCs in this story. I'm not sure if I'll go into the stories with the mother and daughter from the game, or the tank team. I'll definitely being doing things with Pasternack and Voychek since they are much more critical to the story in my opinion. Pasternack especially will get more flushed out.

So yeah, I hope you enjoy this crazy ride I've got planned. Even if players of the game have a roadmap to the major points in the story.

In the meantime; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like it. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'l see you next time!


	2. Chapter 2: Lady Luck

**Chapter 2: Lady Luck**

* * *

After a short conversation with her new wingman, and checking some errors in the Dove's flight system with the Doctor, Elise rushed straight to her private room. Yet another benefit of working for the ERU. She all but tore open the large footlocker that sat in front of her bed, scrambling through it until she found her mother's old marine jacket. She practically wrapped herself in it as she sat on the bed, pulling her legs to her chest as the events of earlier played over and over again in her mind. Every single time she closed her eyes she saw that first bomber exploded all over again. Sure with some of the other planes she shot down, the pilots might've gotten out in time. But that first craft had been blown in two, there was no way anyone could've survived. What scared her most was how easy it had been, how quick and effortlessly she had shot not only them but every other plane down. She didn't even hesitate once it really started.

This was why she had accepted the ERU's offer when she finished flight school early. All she wanted was to fly, she didn't want to fight. Sure, to some degree she had expected needing to at one point or another when she applied to the air force. She had been willing then, or at least she thought she was, to put up with the idea as long as she could be in the sky. But once she joined the ERU all thoughts of combat were dashed from her mind. And now here she was, with bloodied wings.

_You never said it was this hard mom._ Elise thought bitterly as she pulled the jacket tighter around herself. _A little bit of a warning would've been nice…_

Whatever other thoughts she was about to have were interrupted by a knock at her door. Taking a moment to collect herself, Elise stood up and moved to the door. She stopped short of opening the door to realize her hand was shaking. With a deep breath she pushed her anxiety away, and turned the handle. Staring down at her from the doorway was the calm and friendly face of Dr. Tennent, relaxed as usual save a few new wrinkles on his brow.

"Hello Elise, mind if come in?" He asked kindly, keeping his hands behind his back.

"Of course, feel free." She nodded, stepping aside to let him through. As he passed by she noticed the large thermos in his hands. He pulled the chair out from her desk and slipped into it, unscrewing the cap of his thermos and pouring himself some of whatever was in it into the cap/cup.

"Quite the room, I dare say some of our own technicians would be jealous." The doctor spoke up.

"Well I am a squadron leader now." Elise scoffed with a light roll of her eyes.

"Yes quite." He nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "Not the way I saw today going if I'm being completely honest."

"I don't think many of us did." Elise sighed, plopping down on her bed. "So did you need something? Is there a problem with the Dove?"

"Of sorts, nothing so direct as needing you in the cockpit however." He shrugged

"So what's wrong?" She asked

"I believe you will have to tell me if were to make progress on fixing the problem." Dr. Tennent looked up at her before offering her the cup. "Tea?"

"Sure…" Elise trailed off, confused as she took a sip. It certainly did wonders to calm her nerves, though she still felt a gnawing sensation in the back of her mind. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Well I thought it quite obvious. The pilot is as integral a part as any other piece of the aircraft." He explained, taking the cup back and pouring some more tea into it. "When she isn't operating at her peak, it tends to affect the performance of the craft as well."

"_She_?" Elise raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted to check up on you, see how you were holding up after that…_sortie._" The doctor sighed, using the word like it was some kind of curse. "You never should've been up there, and seeing how you rushed back here so quickly I can venture a guess on how you're feeling."

"I'm fine." She insisted, but even she didn't believe it as the words came out of her mouth.

"You're far from it. You've just experienced combat for the first time." Tennent added, his voice remaining soft as he spoke. "And what's more, you've garnered an impressive flight record in a single engagement. Traditionally that would be cause for celebration, a job well done as it were."

"And yet were not throwing a party." Elise fired back.

"And yet were not throwing a party." The Doc repeated "I doubt anyone in the ERU saw you having to go up there as a joyous occasion."

"You can say that again." Elise sighed, her face falling into her hands. She didn't dare look up as she heard the doctor move, only glimpsing his legs through her fingers as he knelt in front of her.

"You can talk to me Elise." He said, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. "Though I may not be that kind of doctor, I can help. But only if you let me."

Taking a deep breath she lifted her face from her hands.

"Just another part to fix, right?" She asked slowly, desperately hoping to be able to put this behind her as easily as the metaphor made it sound.

"That's right. Just another part." Tennent smiled warmly as she let out another shaky breath.

"I…it was, a lot easier that I thought it should've been." Elise admitted after a moment. "And it's so much harder now that it's all over."

"It's easy to forget there are people piloting those planes in the heat of the moment." The doctor told her "All the more so when you know they're attacking those you know are people."

"But still, I didn't even hesitate once I started going." She went on "I just lined up the sights and fired. I didn't think, I just did. Like it was second nature to do so."

"Well with how many practice drones you've shot down I should think so." He said, earning a brief glare from her. "Sorry, that's not what I meant. You're a good pilot Elise, you become part of the aircraft itself when you're up there."

"Is this going somewhere?" She asked suddenly, feeling like a pep talk was not what she needed at the moment.

"Yes, if you'll let me get there." Tennent coughed "When you're that good, you don't think about what you're doing. You just know what to do and act before you can process. That you were able to respond to a crisis like that so quickly is both a blessing and a curse."

"I'd say it's more of a curse right now." Elise muttered.

"Dear girl I'd be more worried if what you did wasn't weighing on you so much." Tennent laughed freely "You're human after all, and quite young to be in a war at that. Had you not been affected by it I would've pulled you from the ERU."

"You're not going to are you?" She asked quickly, her eyes shooting wide open at the thought of her wings being taken away.

"Well given that reaction I can see you still want to fly." The Doctor smiled "Let me ask you something, what made you decide to attack rather than stay away and evade like I told you to?"

"I…I saw one of the bombers drop its payload downtown." She admitted "After that, everything kinda just became instinct."

"So you only acted when you saw that people were in danger?" He asked, getting a nod in response. "Well then, I'd say you're more than welcome to keep flying provided you keep that protective mentality should you see combat again."

"What do you mean?"

"Elise, you know what the 44 can do. You've been piloting it every step of the way since it could achieve takeoff. And you know the weaponry I'm developing for it." Tennent added, growing more serious than she'd ever seen him before. "You know full well what it could do in certain hands. And right now, in the midst of a war, I'm trusting you to make sure it is not abused. To make sure it is used to defend lives, rather than simply taking them."

"Is that what I did?" she wondered aloud.

"Tell me, what do you think would've happened had you not stopped those bombers, hmm?" he asked "What would've happened had you not intercepted some of those fighters?"

"People would've died, innocent people. People just defending their home." Elise breathed out

"Exactly. And however many people survived, did so thanks to you." The doctor went on "I'm not going to glorify what you did, but you made the best of a terrible situation."

"Does it ever get any easier, killing?" Elise asked, her voice quiet as the question slipped out.

"I most certainly hope not, though I'm afraid it just may." Tennent sighed, looking apologetic for the first time since Elise had met him.

* * *

The next morning Elise found herself face down in the Dove's cockpit, feeling a bit better after a good night's rest despite her uncomfortable position. A small electrical issue had caused the lights on her dashboard to go out. And between her familiarity with the entirety of the Dove and her smaller size she opted to fix the problem herself rather than have one of the technicians pull the whole cockpit apart to get at it. That was the last thing she wanted, not only would it be a waste of time, but she'd have to reset her adjustments once it was all put back together. That working on the Dove helped get her mind off the previous day only added to her reasoning.

Like her, her new wingman Marcus "Shamrock" Lampert was working on his own plane at the other end of the hanger. He mentioned something about a small delay on missiles being deployed and went to take a look. She simply nodded before joining Tennent and the rest of the ERU teams working with the Dove. Although the more she thought about it, the more she realized she should probably be trying to get to know her wingman a little. Her gut was telling her the battle over Gracemeria wasn't going to be her last sortie. And as much as she wished that weren't true, if it was then having a wingman she could trust would be important. Especially if she froze up in the air like she had once the adrenaline had worn off yesterday. Shaking the thoughts away for a moment Elise spotted the loose cable causing the problems and inserted it back into its slot. Lights reflected off the open canopy she was using as a makeshift mirror and a satisfied smile popped onto her face as she double checked the wiring for any other problems.

"Damn Danny, looks like I owe you fifty bucks." A slightly familiar voice called outside. "I thought you were kidding."

"Nah Marcus here is obsessive about his bird, I've known him for ages and that hasn't changed in all this time." Another voice answered, making Elise wonder where on earth she had heard them before. They sounded eerily familiar, but for the life of her she couldn't place them.

"Just goes to show why I always perform better than you in the air Dan." Her wingman shot back suddenly, clearly recognizing the two himself. The friendly banter between them all making something click in her mind. Were these some of the other pilots?

Hearing them continue talking outside, and sure that there wasn't anything else wrong with her cockpit, Elise pushed herself up and took a good look at the three men standing at the edge of the hanger doors,. Her wingman was one of them, laughing cheerfully as a man with short and messy blonde hair passed a wad of cash to the third one, a man Marcus's height with an absolute mess of shoulder length black hair. Like her and her wingman, the other two were in flight suits. Switching 'attention' back to her cockpit, Elise tested a few of the basic systems while watching the men out of the corner of her eye.

"You know that's a low blow pal." The one with black hair said, smacking Marcus on the arm "We both know I let my squadron share in the glory."

"So does mine, maybe yours just need to go back to school." Marcus joked. "Maybe I'll give em a couple lessons."

"While I'm sure you've a wealth of experience old man, I don't think they could learn much from you. Her on the other hand…" He trailed off, nodding over towards Elise while she bent over the cockpit. She lifted her head as the group's attention was clearly being shifted onto her.

"So this must be the infamous Talisman." The blonde stated, a small smirk forming on his face. "I don't think we've met."

"I don't think any military outside the ERU had met her before yesterday." Marcus added, she couldn't quite tell if he was defending her in some way, or just stating a fact. Given the look on his face she settled on the former, which did a bit to warm her up to her new wingman.

"That's because they haven't." She spoke up, sliding out of the cockpit and down the ladder. She did her best to ignore the brief looks of surprise that flashed on the two men's faces as she walked up to them. "Before yesterday I didn't fly combat ops."

"Well the ERU wouldn't need to fly into combat normally would they?" The blonde shrugged, kind enough to ignore her obvious age. The man next to him didn't gather himself so quickly, still in slight shock.

"No they wouldn't, but I guess yesterday was a special case." Elise sighed, focusing her eyes on the blonde and her wingman.

"Well in that case introductions are in order. Guys meet Captain Elise Sterling, Garuda 1 Talisman." Marcus smiled before gesturing to the blonde. "This here is Lieutenant Freddie Durand, newly appointed leader of the 2nd Strike Fighter Squadron."

"And what a promotion it was." Freddie rolled his eyes, before giving Elise a sad smile. "You probably know me better as Avalanche."

"I thought you sounded familiar." Elise nodded, putting a face to the name she'd heard yesterday. Until now all she had in mind had been the F/A-18 Hornet he flew.

"And the one who just managed to close his jaw is Captain Dan Pollini. Windhover." Marcus went on, elbowing his friend in the side. He at least had the good grace to look embarrassed.

"Y-yeah sorry." He smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "My bad. Not gonna lie though, if I hadn't heard your voice yesterday I might not have believed you were actually Talisman."

"It's fine." Elise shrugged, it really wasn't but she wasn't about to say that. Instead she stayed quiet, letting the group fall into an awkward silence. She was getting the feeling she'd get used to that disbelief before the war was over.

"Those were some pretty crazy moves you pulled yesterday." Freddie spoke up, filling the silence. "Where'd you learn to fly like that?"

"Couldn't say, I've always had a knack for it." Elise admitted, she'd shot through flight school fast enough to break records but she had no idea where she got her talent for it all. "To be fair, I've gotten better after working with the ERU for a few years."

"I bet." Fred nodded "Simulated combat for us is still just virtual. But you have to test weapons right?"

"Yeah, you can't do that in the battle simulator." Marcus added

"And with the weapon systems the ERU cooks up I'm in the air pretty often." Elise smiled, pointing over her shoulder at the team working almost nonstop on the Dove. "Though lately they've been focused on—"

"Captain, may we borrow you for a moment!" Tennent shouted, not even looking up from the console he was at. "We're ready to test the vectoring nozzles' new parameters!"

"Duty calls." Elise shook her head with a smile.

"That bird's got thrust vectoring?" Dan asked, another look of surprise coming onto his face.

"Yup." Elise smirked proudly "Jealous?"

"A little." He nodded, eyeing the aircraft up and down as she made her way over.

"Hey, one sec." Freddie stopped her "The three of us were heading out for drinks after patrol tonight. You're free to join us if you want."

"Maybe." Elise bit her lip as she wrestled with the thought. "I'll consider it if were not bogged down here."

"No pressure, we'd just love to get to know our latest comrade." Freddie smiled "Right Dan?"

"Y-yeah." He said, still eyeing the Dove. "And maybe that bird's flight speed."

"Hey, my eyes are down here you know." Elise laughed as she climbed back into the cockpit, ready for another long session of simply moving the flight stick around. She didn't miss the way Freddie guffawed as she did and decided that he, like Marcus, wasn't half bad.

* * *

Freddie whistled as the three of them stepped out of the hanger after Marcus's insistence. In the short few hours he'd been with the ERU he had come to realize they liked their space, and sometimes they needed it even more than they let on. The thankful looks he got when the technicians saw his plane pushed up against the far wall had been the first clue.

"Damn, there goes my ego." Fred joked "And here I thought I was the youngest squadron leader out there."

"Tell me about, I'm almost old enough to be her father." Marcus laughed, patting the younger man on the back. He had almost fifteen years on his fellow lieutenant, and was still following someone else's lead. Though he kind of preferred it that way. "She's more than earned it though. You saw her flying yesterday."

"How could I miss her?" He laughed "I could barely go a few seconds without seeing her streak by and blow someone out of the sky. What was it like following her?"

"I could barely keep up." Marcus admitted "And it wasn't because of that plane."

"No way." Dan agreed "I don't care how advanced that bird is, she pulled off a cobra. I heard rumors about people using that maneuver in combat but I thought it was just that until now."

"Still can't wrap my head around that." Fred added "I get its risky but I didn't think it could be done so quickly."

"Tell me about. Even if the rest of that squadron hadn't been engaged with the lot of us she regained speed fast enough for it to not make a difference." Marcus nodded

"Okay can we talk about those guys?" Fred asked, suddenly growing serious. "Cause that was absolutely insane, who the hell were they?"

"No idea, I've never seen fighter's that coordinated." Dan shook his head "It was like they were trying to drive us into one of their buddies. I couldn't even get a good look at them."

"I did." Marcus weighed in "Su-33's, black and red markings, with a reaper's emblem on the tail."

"I'll do some digging, see what I can find out." Dan told them "I've still got a few friends in Intelligence, and right now we need every edge we can get."

"Yeah, we can't all have Lady Luck back there on our side." Freddie laughed, nudging Marcus in the ribs.

"Who knows, maybe they'll decide you're unfit to lead and transfer you to our squadron." Marcus fired back.

"Man, if only, I aint that lucky." Fred said wistfully "Alright, I gotta get the squadron ready for patrol. Catch you tonight."

* * *

"Everything's green on my end doc." Elise called from the cockpit, tired from hours of pushing the stick back and forth while the engines' vectoring nozzles were adjusted. All she wanted right now was to lay down, comfortable as her flight seat was. Not bothering with the ladder Elise slip off the Dove and landed on the floor, taking a moment to stretch before turning to the Doctor.

"Excellent, that should improve maneuverability by five percent." Tennent nodded to the numbers on his screen.

Had she not known how much of a difference that could really make, Elise might have made a comment about all that time being for such a small amount. But after years with the ERU she had come to appreciate just how significant the numbers behind everything meant. Five percent here meant tighter turning, faster response, and potentially the life of a pilot being saved.

"Sorry I had to take you away in the middle of your conversation earlier." The Doctor offered "Though I'm glad to see you're making friends."

"Well it can't hurt to know some of the other pilots out there." Elise shrugged, trying not to blush as the comment made her feel like she was back in high school.

"No it cannot, despite your skill they do have experience they could lend you should you need it." He added with a thoughtful look and Elise knew he was referring to the conversation they had the other night.

"I think I'm all set for the time being." Elise told him firmly, in truth she was feeling better. Still a little shocked by what she'd done, but she felt that was understandable given she had never expected to be in combat with the ERU. The Doc's rationalization and justification of it all helped a bit too, even if it still felt hard to justify killing.

"Well either way there aren't any other adjustments we need to make to the 44, I dare say you have the rest of the day off." Tennent smiled.

Elise nodded as she pressed down on her back, something about sitting in the cockpit before takeoff tensed her up. And just sitting in it running tests gave her the same feeling, only with tests it lasted hours. She honestly wished they could adjust everything while she was in the air to spare her the stiffness she felt afterwards.

Deciding to take a walk around the hanger while the team swapped to working on some of the new weapon systems, Elise found herself heading in the direction of her wingman's aircraft. Marcus seemed like he was part way through re-attaching something underneath when she stopped by, leaning on the craft while she waited for him to finish up. Hardly a second later he rolled out from underneath, sitting up off the wheeled board he was using.

"Still trying to fix that launch delay?" She asked him, intentionally giving him a bit of a start.

"Just finished up actually." He told her after recovering from a small jump that nearly sent the roller out from under him. "What about you captain, done with the Dove?"

"Yeah, she's all calibrated now." Elise smiled, looking back over at her fighter. "And please, drop the captain bit. Not really me and I figure it's a little weird for you too."

"Just a little." Marcus shrugged as he stood up "No offense."

"None taken." She waved him off "I joined to fly, I couldn't care less about rank and what not."

"Yeah I got the feeling." He added with a small smile "Kids don't tend to care for stuff like that. Authority and such."

"Hey now." Elise warned playfully before laughing alongside him. "You talking from experience."

"Yeah, my daughter's about your age. Well fifteen but to me that's lose enough." Marcus admitted with a look of longing in his eyes.

"I'm sure she's a handful." She snickered "God knows I gave my dad hell growing up."

"You have no…actually yeah you probably do." Marcus laughed "She's always got me worried about something or another. Especially now."

Elise would've had to be blind not to see how rapidly his mood shifted at the end there. It was obvious from the way his entire body shifted, almost drawing into itself, along with his tone.

"She's was in the capitol wasn't she?" Elise realized, her own voice dropping.

"Yeah, her and my wife." Marcus added as he sat down with his back against the wall and his eyes shot off to the east, towards Gracemeria.

"I know the feeling." Elise told him, sliding down next to him. "My dad was too. But I imagine the refugee camps are chaos right now. Maybe they just can't contact anyone."

"Yeah maybe." He said hopefully "Just your dad? What about your mother?"

"My mother…my mother was a marine." Elise sighed lightly "She died in Estovakia."

"The Vistoc Incident?" Marcus asked, eyes widening as he slowly started putting the pieces together."

"Yeah, just trying the help people rebuild after the civil war." Elise said bitterly "She'd probably do it all again though. That's the kind of person she was."

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked—" Marcus began

"Its fine," She insisted with a sad smile on her face. "You didn't know, besides…it was a while ago."

"Still…" He trailed off, silence filling their corner of the hanger as Marcus stumbled to try and say anything.

"So tell me about your family." Elise suggested, trying to fill the silence "What are they like?"

With a genuine smile on his face, her wingman reached into his flight suit and pulled out a small photo. On it was him in regular clothes, but with slightly longer brown hair. Still swept back but in good need of a trim. Next to him was a lightly tanned woman with bright red hair, tied and hanging over her shoulder. Between the two was a young girl, probably fifteen like Marcus had said, with auburn hair and a face full of freckles. It looked like the three of them were grouped up at a beach all wearing bright smiles.

"Well there's my wife Monica, she's a chef at restaurant down on 35th street. Fantastic cook, taught herself." Marcus explained "And my daughter Jessica, she's looking forward to driving next year. She's a spitfire let me tell you, gets it all from her mother."

"I'm sure." Elise laughed

"You have no idea." He laughed "One time when I got back from a deployment they—"

"Attention all forces! Enemy bombers incoming, they're heading for the city." A voice crackled over the base's speaker system "All ground units assume defensive positions! Garuda Team scramble!"

"So much for that story." Elise muttered as Marcus stood up, offering her a hand.

"We'll save it for another time." he nodded as he pulled her up.

"Right, you go ahead and take off first." She ordered as she started making her way to the Dove. "It's going to take us a few minutes to get all these cables unhooked, by the time you're in the air I'll be on the runway."

"Got it, I'll see you up there Talisman." Shamrock nodded as he clambered up to his cockpit and slid on his helmet.

Giving him a quick nod before climbing up in the Dove, Elise slipped her own helmet on and nodded to Dr. Tennent who gave the order to start detaching all the lines from the aircraft. Right about now she was wishing he used wireless transmissions to transfer data back on forth, but he had insisted hardwire cables were faster. Plus he was kind of old school.

"Should be just a few minutes Elise. In the meantime I can brief you on your latest weapon." The doc spoke into her com.

"Latest weapon?" She asked in surprise "Doc is this really the time?"

"No time like the present they always say." He spouted with more zeal than she felt appropriate. "I'm not sure when else were going to get a chance to test weapons, and you just may need every trick we can give you."

"And if they don't work?" She asked, looking out the cockpit at him with a glare.

"They will." He insisted "But in the unlikely event you still have all your regular munitions. The EMLs will be stored in your top weapon bays. They sort of have to be."

"Fine whatever, what exactly are these EMLs?" She asked with a roll of her eyes, it would still be a minute or so before the cables were detached and she welcomed the distraction.

"Electromagnetic Launchers, my own design, they're miniaturized rail guns." Tennent explained proudly, hell if she didn't know better she'd almost call him smug. "They don't have the same payload as most other prototypes but they should still pack quite the punch. We've already updated your software to give you a reticle for them on your HUD."

"They need an aiming reticle?" Elise raised an eyebrow as she saw a small circle pop up when she swapped over to the EML on her controls.

"Yes well, the downside to a railgun is that it fires much like a normal…gun." He went on, excitement still evident in his voice. He really was like a kid sometimes, taking too much joy in testing his toys. "Just imagine it's your machine gun only with more range and destructive force. Oh! And less air time, these suckers really send em flying."

"Right…well it can't hurt to try them I guess." Elise sighed as the final cable came out and she taxied to the runway, swapping to standard coms. "This is Garuda 1 Talisman, ready for takeoff."

"Garuda 1 you're clear." Ghost Eye replied quickly "Those bombers just passed through the mountains. They're heading right for the city of Vitoze, this territory is all we've got left and there are still civilians trying to evacuate from the city. We've got to intercept those planes."

"Roger that, consider it done." Elise responded, taking a deep breath to calm herself as she pulled the Dove into the sky.

"Talisman good to see you up here." Freddie (_Avalanche_ she reminded herself) called out cheerfully. "We've got a mess of enemy fighters up here along with the bombers. And I for one don't want to steal all the glory."

"This is Windhover, you keep shooting your mouth off like that and it's gonna fly right off your face Avalanche." Captain Pollini chuckled

"All fighters focus on the bombers, we can save the escorts until they're dealt with." Ghost Eye ordered "Our priority is protecting the city of Vitoze."

"Negative Ghost Eye," Elise argued "We go for the bombers first and those escorts will pick us off one by one. Avalanche, Windhover, can your squadrons cover me and Shamrock while we deal with the bombers?"

"Is 'Lady Luck' Talisman asking us for help?" Avalanche asked in fake surprise.

"I'm asking you to save me the trouble." She fired back playfully "Unless of course you want us to take all the glory for ourselves?"

"This is Avalanche, moving to support Garuda Team." He laughed openly into coms as Elise watched his squadron bank and follow above while Shamrock pulled in behind her.

"This is Windhover, Avalanche ought to be enough." He called out "We got a lot of scattered bogies up here though, my squadron will run interference before they can get in your way."

"Roger that, watch yourselves." Elise confirmed.

To a degree it still scared her how quickly she was able to swap into combat mode, and part of her had a feeling she'd been in much the same state after this mission as she was her first. But for the moment she pushed those thoughts aside, once again there were bombers on their way to hurt people. It might not have been Gracemeria, but Vitoze was full of civilians all the same. And there was also the risk her fellow pilots could be hurt if she wasn't around to take even a small amount of pressure off. If for nothing else, those two reasons were enough to get her moving. She hit the afterburner, accelerating rapidly as her eyes scanned the various targets marked by all the radar facilities on the ground.

It didn't take her all that long to find the first bomber. A single lone craft, probably got over eager and rushed ahead of its formation. And it was passing right in front of her, crossing from her right to left. Elise wasn't in the best position for a missile, she was too close, if she fired now it would go wide thanks to the bomber's flight path. Sighing and shaking her head, Elise thumbed the switch on her dashboard and activate the EMLs. IF they worked like Tennent had said, then a slight turn would put the bomber smack dab in the middle of her line of fire. But there was one thing she had learned above most else since working with the ERU; **if** was a hell of word to gamble on.

"This is Talisman." She said through gritted teeth as she banked left. "Firing EML."

"Firing what?" Shamrock asked just before Elise pulled the trigger.

With an almost deafening crack the railgun fired, Elise swore she could see the air ripple as the charged round burst into the bomber. It impacted on the wing, practically disintegrating a good portion of it before piercing through and tearing into the body of the bomber. The craft listed, almost like it flinched from the hit before the wing tore off and the entire bomber split in half, falling to earth. Elise watched for a moment in stunned silence before shaking out of her daze and pulling the Dove back on course.

"Whew…" Avalanche whistled as Elise watched the bomber split into more pieces while it fell. "Remind me to screw with the ERU."

"Hey Doc…" Elise flipped her coms to the private line. "You're insane. Brilliant, but insane."

"It worked didn't it?" He asked happily, taking her following silence as an answer "Hah! Excellent! And my colleagues said it couldn't be done!"

Elise sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. As she turned back north she caught sight of a group of bombers. Diving briefly she pulled up in a tight U, rolling back to normal after coming out behind the bombers. She quickly ordered Shamrock to take the half on the left while she acquired lock on her two. Letting her missiles loose she turned to the lead plane, wincing as she swapped to the EML and fired. This time the round caught the aircraft on the back of the body near the tail, severing it. Missing its entire tail the bomber started tilting downwards. Elise let out a relieved breath when she saw a pair of parachutes pop before it could go completely nose down.

Righting the Dove and looking around for more bombers Elise noticed her hands were shaking once more. She grit her teeth and fought back against her anxiety again. She was far from ashamed of it, in fact the logical part of her brain knew it was justified. But it was the last thing she needed right now. Flying compromised like that would get her killed, and other people could be hurt if she went down.

"You alright Talisman?" Shamrock called out "You seem tense?"

"Still getting used to all this." She told him curtly

"Take a deep breath." Her wingman told her "You're doing fine."

"Try tuning into civilian radio." Avalanche suggested "A bunch of us listen to music up here. Makes things a bit less tense."

With a brief nod she knew no one could see, she started playing with the receiver in her cockpit. Adding another channel was easy, but finding a station seemed impossible.

"You sure about that?" She asked as she went through station after station only to be met with silence.

"Yeah a lot of em have gone offline since the war started." Avalanche sighed "Keep tuning, should find one of the one up eventually."

"Yeah…" Elise shrugged, keeping her eyes on the sky while her free hand tuned through the static. She eventually found a station, and was surprised when she checked the number. "Huh, Emmeria Public Radio is still broadcasting."

"EPR? No way, that was the first station the Stovies took off the air when they invaded." Shamrock said in shock.

"No she's right its up." Avalanched confirmed "Dead quiet but running anyw—"

Anything else he would've said was cut off as the radio flared to life. A heavily accented voice ringing out clearly as the station began broadcasting audio again.

"_Emmerian continental forces have succumbed to the might of our army and wisely admitted defeat_." An Estovakian voice echoed throughout Elise's cockpit.

"What the hell?!" Windhover roared into the coms, breaking his short silence.

"It's the Stovie's propaganda broadcast." A woman's voice explained in clearly restrained anger.

"Bastards are using our own radio station." Avalanche growled.

Elise found herself found herself almost at a loss for words, it had barely been a day and already the Estovakians had enough of a grasp to use Gracemeria's radio station. Hell any public place was probably packed full of people looking for shelter after losing their homes. Or did the Estovakians just not care enough about the civilians the bombed to help them instead? The explosions in the air around her and the ruins on the ground told Elise all she felt she needed to know.

Her eyes narrowed on the latest formation of bombers beneath her. She pulled her plane to the left and rolled over, pitching her nose down until she came back out ready to cut across the bombers. Elise loosed two of her four remaining missiles and unloaded her machine gun into the rest of the formation, streaking passed them in an instant and hearing their planes exploded behind her.

"_Our merciful government in their benevolence has taken it upon themselves to restore order to your former capital Gracemeria._" The broadcast went on "_But some would continue this pointless conflict to fulfill their warmongering desires._"

"Damnit, what a bunch of lies!" Shamrock finally yelled, pushed passed his limit.

"Focus Garuda 2." Elise chided, even if she was feeling the same way. "One more bomber formation ahead. Looks like the last one."

"I see em." He confirmed, banking with her to come up behind them.

Elise silently fumed, thumbing the trigger the instant one of the bombers was locked on. She watched the missile streak out, exploding as it came in contact with the aircraft she was aiming for before she turned her attention to the next one down the line.

"Shit, I've been strafed!" the female pilot's voice cried out.

"Laner! You okay?" Windhover called out.

"I'll be fine, Garuda you've got incoming!" 'Laner' warned

"What the—?!" Elise exclaimed as a fast moving bogey closed in on radar. "Garuda 2, bank!"

She watched as Shamrock followed her order without question, banking his craft to the right as tracer fire burst into the space he was not a second ago. Gold flashed in her vision as the fighter responsible shot by.

"Damnit, breaking off the formation." Shamrock winced as he started pulling away.

"Negative stick with them, their almost over the city!" Elise ordered "Avalanche, leave your squadron with him and back me up."

"Talisman?" Shamrock asked, confused but following her orders.

"I'll take care of that fighter before he has a chance to come back around. You're still in position to finish them, I'm counting on you Shamrock." Elise explained, already gunning the throttle as she kept her eyes on the streak of gold far ahead of her.

"Roger that, Blizzard you have command." Avalanche said to his own squadron before falling in behind her quickly.

Almost everything else became a blur as the Dove accelerated, screaming as it tore through the sky. She was on the tail of her target within seconds. A brightly gold painted F-16 with a large black bird painted on the tail.

Elise had a lock for all of a second before the fighter banked right, trying to evade. It was far from enough, as she turned with him, glued to his tail as she attempted to shake her. She followed as close as she dared, waiting for the perfect shot. The Dove only had a single missile left after all the bombers she had dropped, and she had no intention of wasting it. Blood roared in her ears as she turned back and forth, keeping pace with the golden aircraft in front of her as it barely stayed off of a firing angle. She briefly recognized Avalanche's voice crackle into her ear as a missile lock was gained on her only to disappear a second later. She tuned it out and focused solely on the F-16, whatever else was out there he seemed to have it handled. For a second it passed in front of her firing reticle, and Elise loosed a burst of MG fire that passed over the craft and scratched its hull.

It might not have done anything to the plane but it was enough to spook the pilot, and he turned sharply cutting his speed with the craft's airbrake as he banked and tried to pull a U turn. Rather than stick with him Elise nosed up, hitting her own airbrake and rudder at the same time as she went completely vertical. Her plane slowed down rapidly and kicked over like it was turning on the tips of its wing. The moment her nose was facing the ground again she hit the afterburners, shooting down and towards her target as it completed its turn. She came in right behind the F-16 and fired the second she had missile lock. Her last Sidewinder shot out, smoke trailing behind it as it screeched through the air. And her target popped flares.

"Damnit!" Elise shouted as the missile detonated on the countermeasure, confusing the flare's heat for the engine of an aircraft.

She thumbed her flight stick, switching to her secondary weapon bays, forgetting for a moment she didn't have missiles in the upper bays. When an aiming reticle larger than her usual gun one popped up an almost feral grin spread across her face. _Gotcha._

"Counter this!" She yelled as she pulled the trigger and the crack of the EML filled the air. The magnetically fired projectile ripped into the sky, piercing the engine of the golden jet and exploding out the front. Where before all the hits had been glancing or intersecting blows, this one round tore through the entire craft. Elise rolled the Dove up and over the fighter as it shattered, bursting from within. The entire aircraft turning to dust and smoke as it blew, nothing but bits and pieces falling to the ground.

"Enemy formation down!" Ghost Eye cheered

"You expected anything less?" Windhover asked, voice slowly losing the edge it had now that any hostiles were gone.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried" Ghost Eye admitted "But I have to say you handled things well."

"It's all thanks to that great air cover." Elise said as she steadied the Dove, adrenaline leaving her body as control confirmed it was all over.

"You know heapin' all that praise on us has got me a little too red in the face to go back home." Avalanche laughed, pulling up next to her and giving her a quick wave.

"Roger that Avalanche," Ghost Eye started with barely contained mirth. "I'll just report you as gunned down and missing in action."

"Hah hah, that's pretty harsh Ghost eye." Shamrock chuckled.

A small smile wormed its way to Elise's face as she turned back to the airfield, her heart rate lowering as she guided the plane back gently despite the shaking that was quickly returning to her hands. She took a deep breath, then another one as she briefly looked back to the smoking ruins of the bombers on the ground.

"You know what, boys." She started "I think I'll join you for that drink after all."

* * *

A/N

Alright chapter 2, it longer on this one. Not quite sure how that happened but eh. Frankly Im surprised I got this much out for what is probably the most boring mission in the game. Taking out the bombers in Vitoze is always easy even on Ace difficulty. Hence my addition to the story both before and in combat. People who played on hard or higher might recognize the enemy ace that shows up here. Things like that are ideas I'll be toying around with to keep things interesting. Basically the hostile aces from the game will pretty much be showing up in any mission without Strigon team, and maybe some with them. It would be pretty boring if things were simple after all.

One thing I certainly have to mention is the first section of this chapter. I in no way claim to be an expert on what it is like to be a soldier and have to kill people. I have no idea what it is like and the kind of toll it must take on the person doing it. Elise's reaction after everything calms down is what I gather it would be like for a lot of civilians who are put in similar circumstances. For a scene like that I am constantly going back and re-working it, so if you're reading this chapter and have anything to add that might help make it seem more realistic or natural please let me know. Even if its just something like experience or knowledge you've gained through people you know or research you've done and don't mind sharing. My time is a bit limited so I unfortunately wasn't able to dig too deep into the psychological effects of taking a life on someone who isn't trained for it.

In the meantime; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like it. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'l see you next time!


	3. Chapter 3: Night on the Ground

**Chapter 3: Night on the Ground**

* * *

Elise couldn't believe the thoughts that were coming to mind, but walking to a bar with her wingman she was actually feeling even more out of place. Thanks to the Doctor, she still had the clothes she had changed out of when she arrived at the ERU's hanger the day of the invasion. Marcus and the rest of the regular forces hadn't been so lucky, they were all left with some basic underclothes and their combat uniforms. So wearing plain jeans, a shirt, and her mother's Marine Corps jacket she felt closer to a civilian than a pilot when standing next to her wingman dressed in his grey camo fatigues. Granted she borderline was one, but still. The only indicator of her status in the military being the pass clipped to her hip so she could head out into the city for the night.

"Gotta say, I'm surprised you decided to come with us." Marcus said, still smiling. It almost seemed like nothing could get him down for long.

"After my last couple of days, I could use a night off." Elise admitted, feeling more tired than she let on.

"Can't argue that." He shrugged as they stepped into some random bar, Elise couldn't be bothered to check the name since they probably wouldn't be back for a while. It was a pretty nice place all things considered, she half expected them to find some dive bar but this place was actually seemed fairly relaxing. She instantly noticed the dozen or so military uniforms milling about in the bar. She only recognized two of the faces among them though. Dan was out throwing darts with a few other service members, and judging from the looks on their faces he was winning. Freddie on the other hand was sitting at the bar, the blonde grinning as he watched his friend clean house. What stood out most was the uniform he was wearing. Unlike Marcus and Dan, who wore the grey air force fatigues, Fred was wearing dark blue navy ones.

"Ah Garuda Team, just in time!" Dan exclaimed, raising his glass in their direction. Despite the beer in his hands his eyes were as sharp as ever, relaxing lightly as he turned away from the game.

"We were beginning to think you wouldn't make it." Fred chuckled, flashing them a cheeky smile.

"What and miss out on all the fun?" Marcus laughed "You guys would be bored to tears without us."

"You're not wrong." Dan said, lifting a dart in his free hand and throwing it at the board. It sunk into the eight ring and a collective groan echoed out of the group behind him as a couple of marines started pulling a couple wads of cash out of their pockets.

"This is so easy it's almost not fun." Dan sighed as the group shot him a bunch of dirty looks. Elise crossed her arms and sunk to a hip, her eyes narrowing as she saw just how much cash Dan had collected on the table next to him.

"Shamrock," She started, getting her wingman's attention "Why don't you go provide the marines over there with some air support?"

His eyes darted over to the soldiers who looked her way at her words, then back to her mother's jacket as he slowly pieced things together.

"You got it Talisman." He grinned, walking over to Dan and placing a bet on the table. Elise instantly noted the way the captain's face drained of color as Marcus's money hit the table and grinned. He turned around briefly with a raised eyebrow. "What about you?"

"I'm getting a drink." She shrugged, walking over towards the bar and throwing a smirk over towards the marines.

"Thank me later." Elise added as she passed by them.

"And I thought Ghost Eye could be mean." Freddie laughed as she pulled out the stool next to him. Unlike Dan he seemed to just enjoy watching things play out. "There goes all his money, not bad."

"Well, maybe a little." Elise admitted flagging down the bartender "Dry martini."

"You got it, pilots drinking free tonight." A large gruff man nodded to her as he reached under the bar, working fast at her drink.

"How'd you know I—"

"Your pal here told me you were coming." The bartender motioned to Freddie as he slid her the drink and walked away to the next customer.

"Figured you wouldn't want to deal with another person thinking you were too young to fly." Fred shrugged as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Thanks." She sighed, taking a sip of her drink. "Honestly that's the last thing I wanted to deal with tonight."

"Call it instinct but I was getting that vibe." He admitted, turning in his seat so he was facing the bar with her, like her content to simply hear Marcus clean out Dan back out.

"Guess it was pretty obvious." Elise winced, she had noticed an analyzing look being shot her way by her wingman just before they left. Her mind flashed back further to earlier in the days and she downed half her drink in hopes it would keep her hands from shaking.

"Well more so after that." Fred said, pointing to her glass as he took a sip of his own. "So what's eating at you?"

Elise was quiet for a few moments, swirling her drink as she watched the olives inside bob up and down. To a degree she felt like she shouldn't talk about it, but between thinking back to her conversation with the Doctor the previous night and the look of genuine concern on Fred's face she caved.

"Still getting used to all this I suppose." She said, looking back to her glass, realizing it was now empty and flagging the bartender again.

"Yeah I can't say I'm surprised." Fred sighed "You weren't supposed to be in combat if I recall."

"I signed on as a test pilot." Elise confirmed "Golden opportunity."

"How so?"

"Got me out of the academy early." She explained, nodding to the bartender when he brought her another martini. "I breezed through flight training, but they were going to keep me on the next two years anyway."

"There are reasons for that you know." He pointed out.

"Reasons that didn't apply to me since I was going to be a test pilot." Elise countered before sinking into her stool. "I just wanted to fly."

"Don't we all." Fred smiled sadly

"How do you guys deal with it?" She asked suddenly.

"Deal with what?" he asked, confused before she shot him a withering look. "Ahh, **that**."

"No offense, but you three don't look like what we did earlier even bothers you." she went on, motioning to Marcus and Dan who were laughing playfully now that Marcus had returned the marines their money and the two started playing for fun. "But the moment I come back down to earth, it hits me like a freight train."

"Well I guess we hide it a little better." Fred admitted "But honestly, we're conditioned for it."

"You are?" Elise asked, slightly mortified by the idea.

"Yeah, by the time we got our wings we had accepted what we'd being doing if we ever saw combat. It's part of those last two years of training." Fred answered, his voice growing heavy as he sipped at his drink. "We've distanced ourselves from it. I don't think of the person inside the plane anymore, just the craft itself."

Elise hadn't quite been stunned into silence, but she certainly hadn't gotten the answer she was hoping for.

"I'll tell you this though," He added on after a moment "You have to make it mean something. Just because you're doing a horrible thing doesn't mean you're doing it for bad reasons."

"The Doctor said something similar." Elise nodded slowly, "Make the best out of a bad situation."

"Exactly, and no matter what anyone says combat is a bad situation. But in the air you can turn it around." Fred agreed "In Gracemeria if we hadn't done what we had our own people would've been massacred by those bombs."

"Is that why you joined?" she raised an eyebrow, feeling better bit by tiny bit as Fred talked. "To protect people?"

"Got it in one. Meanwhile you're doing my job better than me. But that's neither here nor there" He shook his head "Take this bar for example. If those bombers had hit the city, this bar might not be here. These people might not be here. We stopped that."

"We?" Elise asking cheekily, seeing his point but not able to resist getting a jab in.

"Hey now, didn't you say something about great air cover?" Fred shot back, smiling again.

"I thought you said I was doing your job better?"

A moment later the two broke out chuckling, Elise covering her mouth as her giggles turned into laughter alongside Fred.

"Thanks." She said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I needed that."

"Anytime, can't have Lady Luck beating herself up now can we?" Fred grinned as he leaned forward. "So I gotta ask, why Talisman?"

"Why Avalanche?" Elise fired back, sipping on her drink nonchalantly.

"Okay then, tit for tat?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Oh you wish." She smirked

"Hah, alright fine. It goes back to when I was about to finish up training. I grew up in central Anea so my training wound up taking place by Selumna Peaks." Fred explained "So on my final day of training we had to take down a couple of drones above the mountains. I get down to one and fire a missile, only it goes wide."

"Oh no." Elise realized "You didn't."

"I did, missed completely while we were low to the ground. Missile hit the side of the mountain, and I swear to god the first avalanche started a chain reaction." He laughed "Next thing I know half the mountains are dropping their snow into the valley below. It was Avalanche from then on out."

"Wow, either it's the alcohol or something else but I actually believe that." She chuckled

"Well it's true so you should." Fred nodded "You're turn."

"Fair enough. Don't get excited." Elise added as she zipped her jacket down a tiny bit. She opened it up further around her neck so she could grasp the small chain that hung around it and pull it up. Dangling from the chain was a simple silver talisman with a blue gem cast in the center. "Gift from my father just before I started flying for the ERU. I never fly without it."

"Well that was boring." Fred sighed dramatically

"Hey we can't all have some crazy backstory behind our call sign." Elise pouted "You trying to tell me 'Windhover' didn't just name himself for a bird?"

"Well…" he cringed

"Damnit." Elise mumbled, lifting her drink to her lips.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you it was because said bird perched itself on his head and refused to move?" Fred offered

"It might." She cracked as the two's laughter filled the air again.

* * *

"Well, looks like they're getting along well." Dan commented behind Marcus as the latter hurled the last dart towards the target. Striking dead center like the last three he turned to see Elise and Freddie laughing together at the bar. He couldn't stop the smile that crept onto his lips as he watched, it was good to see her making friends with someone. Given the fact that she was practically a civilian forced into combat he hazarded a guess that she didn't have any friends outside members of the ERU. And seeing as how she only really talked to the doctor in charge, he also figured she saw most of them simply as coworkers.

It also took a load off his mind to see her laughing at all. It was clear as day that she was having a hard time dealing with being thrust into combat and shooting down piloted aircraft. Skill or not, combat stress had a way of piling up on a person who wasn't ready for it. With two missions under her belt already and more likely on the way, Marcus was more than a little worried. Now with that taken care of and his pocket a little heavier, save the money he sent back to the marines, he was more than happy to finish Dan off and grab a beer himself.

"So what do you think of her?" Marcus asked as the two shuffled over to a small table to enjoy their drinks. "You've seen her fly twice now."

"You've flown with her twice now." Dan deflected, sipping at his beer. "I think you've got the same opinion as I do."

"Somehow I doubt that," Marcus chuckled "You've got a bird's eye view from your distance. As her wingman I'm just trying to keep up with her in all honesty."

"Insane, she's absolutely insane." Dan sighed "And I mean that in a good way."

"Okay so maybe I do kinda agree with you." Marcus smirked

"It's almost unnatural how good she is, it barely makes sense." Dan went on "I heard back from some friends, those planes back in the capitol; the reapers, that was the Stovie's best squadron."

"What'd you find out?"

"Decorated squadron from the civil war, all experienced aces, more so than most of our own pilots." Dan explained

"And she shot one down on her first combat mission." Marcus whistled

"More than that, Intel thinks she got their leader." Dan nodded as Marcus raised his eyebrows. "You saw how the rest of the squadron broke off to cover him didn't you? We also picked up a whole mess of com activity too."

"But no confirmation?" Marcus asked "None?"

"Zip, we just know the rest of the squadron got real vocal when she shot that one down." Dan sighed "Believe me, if we could actually tell what they were saying I'd be a lot less worried."

"You're thinking they'll come after us for payback aren't you?" Marcus realized as he drained what was left of his drink.

"Well if you're squadron leader was shot down what would you do?" Dan suggested

"Hunt down the one responsible and shove a missile up his tail pipe." Marcus answered without hesitation. "Though in my defense of course I would, she's practically a kid. Reminds me of my daughter. She shouldn't have to fight."

"Course that's the direction you go, old man." Dan teased, smirking lightly as he waved for another round. "We'll keep our eyes peeled, those pilots were no joke. I'd hate to see if they've got anything up their sleeves."

"Like those cruise missiles." Marcus added "Those things were wreaking havoc back in Gracemeria."

"Ugh, thanks for reminding me." Dan groaned.

"Look on the bright side bud." Marcus chuckled, slapping Dan on the arm. "You're gonna get real familiar with that contact of yours."

"Yay." His friend groaned, mumbling into his drink. "Too bad he's not tall, blonde, and female."

Marcus nearly choked on his drink, laughing as it went down his throat.

"Don't worry man, we'll find you a girl someday." Marcus coughed out "What about that redhead I've seen you chatting up?"

"You mean my lieutenant?" Dan raised an eyebrow. "Lanner? Someone in my squadron?"

"Why not?" Marcus asked

"Besides the various rules against fraternizing with your fellow pilots?" Dan shook his head "I'm her boss, that'd make things too weird."

"Well look on the bright side, when we retake Gracemeria we'll be heroes." Marcus smirked "Even you shouldn't have trouble finding a girl then."

"We have to get off this island first." Dan nodded "Speaking of."

"Did 'not tall, blonde, and female' have more for you?"

"We'll be going on the offensive soon."

* * *

"Alright everyone settle down." A commanding voice echoed across the briefing room. Elise looked down from the large battle map to see an older man with greying hair step into the room. Unlike everyone else who was wearing their flight suits, this man was wearing the standard dress uniform of the air force and Elise was able to make out a single star on his shoulder. One of the generals.

"Okay listen up, that air raid the Estovakians tried to pull sacrificed a good portion of the enemy's air power on Khesed. Without it, we're in a position to finally start our counter offensive." The general explained, motioning to the maps behind him. "We're starting here in Sipli Field. The Estovakians have set up a series of defensive lines along the river, and if we can't cross that river we're going nowhere fast."

The maps shifted as the projector moved to a new image, zoomed in on the river with multiple recent photos. Artillery, anti-air weaponry, and tanks littered the river's edge as well as the town nearby. There were a few other military vehicles and encampments, but none quite as noteworthy as the first line of defense the Estovakians had deployed at Sipli.

"Our scouts have shown the enemy has gathered most of their forces at this location. With the number of bridges it's the only crossing along the river where we can effectively move our ground forces." The general went on. "The army will be deploying three separate battalions of ground troops, one at each bridge, with our squadrons providing cover fire. Windhover Squadron will assist Warlock Battalion in the central formation. Avalanche since we've lost contact with most of the fleet, you'll be covering Quox to the east. Cerberus Team will assist the Steel Gunners and Yellow Jacket formation to the west. Nazca, Disco, and Garuda teams will be deployed in the reserve force."

"Sir." A voiced nodded in response a few rows down, echoed shortly by Elise and another officer.

"So we're not gonna have Lady Luck flying on the frontlines this time?" Fred's teasing voice asked from up front.

"You do your job right Avalanche and she won't need to pull your ass out of the fire." Dan jabbed back.

"Any actual questions?" The general asked with a shake of his head. "Good, the mission begins in three hours. Dismissed."

Elise's mind was racing slightly as she stood up and left, followed out of the room by Marcus as the pair made their way towards the hanger. She couldn't tell if it was more or less stressful knowing she was going into combat ahead of time. The emergencies the past few days were incredibly stressful in the way they were rushed into things, but they also didn't give her time to think about the idea of being in combat. Over all she figured it was just her getting used to the idea. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that.

"So not the frontlines this time huh?" Marcus asked as he followed her outside and down the edge of the runway.

"Might as well be," Elise shook her head. "We're way outnumbered here."

"You think they'll call us up from the reserves then?"

"I think we'd better make sure our birds are in top shape." Elise sighed as the made to the ERU's hanger.

No later had the words left her mouth than smoke suddenly billowed out of the hanger, followed shortly by half the technicians. Elise took off running, eyes narrowing as she saw the Doc's form stumble out of the smoke coughing.

"Doc you okay? What happened?" she asked, rubbing a bit of soot off his coat.

"E-Elise?!" The Doc stammered out, rubbing his eyes. "I assure…it's nothing we can't fix."

Realization hit her like a freight train, eyes narrowing as she grabbed Tennent by his collar and dragged him down to eye level. Her voice turning cold as she spoke.

"What did you do to my bird?"

* * *

A/N

Not much to say on this one, some lighthearted moments, some less than lighthearted moments, some foreshadowing. Some stalling as I try to turn the games tutorial into th mission zones into an interesting chapter. Probably gonna ramp up just how outnumbered Emmeria is but I dont know yet.

In the meantime; comment, critique, tear my work apart and point out all the glaring flaws if you feel like it. Just try to be constructive, I can't fix anything if all you do is slam it. I'l see you next time!


End file.
